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Burials in the Old Roman Catholic Cemetery

Transcribed by Lorraine Larment from 1994 Commemorative Booklet

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Find a Grave description of the Roman Catholic cemetery:

“The cathedral is located at the intersection of Money Street and Parkfield Street. The original Roman Catholic Cemetery was an important place for the Roman Catholic Diocese from the days of early settlement as their place of burial. Comprising of an area of 1 acre 3 perches on Lot 300, Reserve 23888 was surveyed for the purpose of a Roman Catholic Cemetery when Ommaney surveyed the Bunbury Townsite in 1841. On 17 November 1842, Eliza Keegan, a young mother, was the first person to be buried in the Roman Catholic Cemetery. Some 550 Roman Catholic settlers and their descendants were also interred there before the cemetery closed in 1954. The decision to close was partly due to sand movement covering the graves. The land was returned to the Crown in 1951 and some graves were relocated to the new Bunbury Town Cemetery, including 9 Sisters of Mercy and Father Dean Martelli. Others were given permission to remove their relatives to the new town Cemetery provided it was at their own expense. The opportunity was beyond the means of many families in the post-war period. The old Catholic Cemetery was graded in 1954 and it is estimated there are over 520 graves under the sand dunes. There is no visible evidence of the graveyard except for a signpost erected by the council to mark the site.”